Procalcitonin (PCT)

Inflammation is your immune system’s response to injury, infection, and certain cancers. It can also result from blood or immune system disorders. An erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a blood test that identifies inflammation in your body.

Rheumatoid factors are proteins that sometimes mistakenly attack healthy cells and tissues in your body. Not everyone has rheumatoid factors in their blood. If you have high levels of rheumatoid factors, you may have rheumatoid arthritis. This disease can damage your joints and cause pain, swelling, and stiffness. It is a chronic (long-lasting) condition that can affect your organs and cause other symptoms.

Our bones are continually being remodeled in a two-step process: the “breakdown” of bone (resorption) and the replacement of the removed bone (formation). In osteoporosis, the bones are weakened because the breakdown occurs faster than the rebuilding. When bone is resorbed, fragments of the bone collagen are released into the bloodstream. One of these fragments is called “C-telopeptide.” This test helps assess the loss of bone mass in cases of osteoporosis or other bone diseases such as Paget’s disease.

Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) is an enzyme which plays an important role in making your body’s energy. It is found in almost all the body’s tissue, including those in the blood, heart, kidneys, brain, and lungs. When these tissues are damaged, they release LDH into the bloodstream or other body fluids. If your LDH blood or fluid levels are high, it may mean certain tissues in your body have been damaged by disease or injury.

Lactate, also known as lactic acid, is a substance produced during glucose metabolism when the body is deprived of oxygen. Under normal conditions, the concentration of lactate in the blood is very low. However, when the body lacks oxygen (due to causes such as shock, heart failure, severe infection, etc.), the lactate concentration will increase. The lactate test measures the concentration of lactate in the blood. This test is important for assessing the extent of oxygen deficiency in tissues and organs, and diagnosing and monitoring medical conditions that cause elevated blood lactate levels, such as: septic shock, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, poisoning, certain genetic disorders, etc.